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Former White House press secretary and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki was named several times by a federal judge who is temporarily preventing White House officials from meeting with tech companies about social media censorship.
The injunction said that Psaki "publicly began pushing Facebook and other social-media platforms to censor COVID-19 misinformation" on May 5, 2021.
"At a White House Press Conference, Psaki publicly reminded Facebook and other social-media platforms of the threat of ‘legal consequences’ if they do not censor misinformation more aggressively," it continued.
The injunction by Louisiana Judge Terry A. Doughty was in response to recent lawsuits from Louisiana and Missouri attorneys general. The suits allege that the White House coerced or "significantly encourage[d]" tech companies to suppress free speech during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki was named several times in an injunction issued by a federal judge regarding White House officials contacting social media companies to restrict content. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
The injunction also added that Psaki said "that the White House wanted every social-media platform to do more to call out misinformation and disinformation, and to uplift accurate information," during a press conference in February 2022.
Doughty is barring several federal officials and agencies – including some of Biden's Cabinet members and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre – from contacting social media companies in efforts to suppress speech.
The injunction also states that the government's actions "likely violate the Free Speech Clause" and that the court "is not persuaded by Defendants’ arguments."
"If the allegations made by Plaintiffs are true, the present case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history," the injunction said. "In their attempts to suppress alleged disinformation, the Federal Government, and particularly the Defendants named here, are alleged to have blatantly ignored the First Amendment’s right to free speech."
President Joe Biden answers a question during a joint press conference with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the White House on June 8, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
During a July 2021 press conference, Psaki, alongside Surgeon General Murthy, told reporters that the White House was "flagging problematic posts" for Facebook, according to the injunction.
"We are in regular touch with these social-media platforms, and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff, but also members of our COVID-19 team," she said, according to the injunction. "We’re flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation."
The injunction also said that it was "quite telling that each example or category of suppressed speech was conservative in nature."
Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki joined the hosts of "Morning Joe" in October 2022 to discuss the midterm elections. (Screenshot/MSNBC/MorningJoe)
Doughty rejected a motion by attorneys for Psaki to block a court-ordered deposition in November 2022, and said there is public interest in "determining whether First Amendment free speech rights have been suppressed."
Psaki joined MSNBC after departing the White House and debuted her Sunday show, "Inside with Jen Psaki" in March.
MSNBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Fox News' Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.
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